How to Become a Freelance Web Developer

Most web developers tend to work for web design agencies, although some other types of company will employ developers and programmers directly if they have a sufficient requirement. Somewhere along the way these web specialists almost always find themselves doing the odd ‘little project’ on the side for friends and family, and this can often head to a situation where they might think about freelancing for the first time, as an alternative to being employed.

As a freelance web developer you might find yourself working directly for a number of different end client companies. But it’s also quite likely that you might end up with clients who are web design agencies - companies who typically employ web developers as well, but who might also need additional capacity or specialist skills from time to time.

The benefits of becoming a freelance web developer are easy to see. Not only do you get to choose your own working hours, and your own clients, but you also have the opportunity to earn far more than you might do as an employee, if you are prepared to put in the hours. In fact our freelancer take home pay calculator shows you how much you can expect to take home as a freelancer

But leaving the employed world can be a daunting prospect and so many web developers opt to try freelancing in their spare time and then move into full time freelancing further down the line when they are more sure of the business opportunity.If you’re doing this or thinking of doing this it’s probably a good idea to have a chat with an accountant as there may be tax implications you should be considering and maybe also allowances you aren’t taking advantage of.

Having made the decision to give it a go, whether full or part time and whether to set up as a sole trader or limited company, you’re going to need a wide range of tax and accountancy advice and support in the early days when setting up as a freelancer.

The most daunting thing about going freelancing for most people is the thought of having to engage with an accountant. At first glance it’s easy, you go down to your local high street accountant who quotes you anything from £250 - £600 plus VAT to do your end of year accounts for you.

This sounds great, however what happens if you want to speak to your accountant for advice throughout the year on things like:

• Expenses
• Tax allowances
• Take home pay
• How much you should put aside for your tax bill
• Should you register for the Flat Rate VAT scheme
• Would going limited be beneficial
• Can I do work other than web development through my business
• If you have a life plan and wish to go travelling what’s the most tax efficient way to run your business.

Each time you pick up the phone it is likely you will get charged, in fact every time your accountant sends you a letter you may charged and you may even get charged if you call to query your invoice! So by the end of the year you could easily be looking at a bill of over £1,000. 

Easy Accountancy charge a fixed fee of only £30 VAT a month.

We don’t want our clients to be scared to contact us and potentially lose out on valuable tax saving advice, that's why we only charge a fixed fee of £30 VAT a month. It’s important when you first start out freelancing that you set your business up in the best way possible. As a start up you’ll probably have loads of questions and will really appreciate the fact you can call your accountant as many times as you like without the fear of racking up large bills.